Sunday, September 27, 2009

Sharon Butala II

The author night was a great success. We had a full house, including people sitting on the window ledges. Glasses of wine and sparkling water were served. Sharon gave an amazing talk and took questions at the end. Books were sold - all the stock we had! - and signed. Everybody fell in love with one of Canada's finest writers. The next day Sharon went home to the Canadian West and Bray is still talking about her. People rang me, sent me emails and even stopped me on the streets to say "I could have listened to her all night!" She spoke of her beloved rancher husband Peter who died two years ago, of the lives of women on the land, of the aboriginal spirits who came to teach her as she walked the prairies, and of the tragic injustice done to the First Nations peoples when we took their land, which was also their soul. Many were moved to tears, but there was laughter as well. Have to say it was one of the most moving author events I have ever been to. My thanks to my sister Patricia Burnes of the Signal Arts Centre and the Centre itself - run by artists for artists - for hosting the evening.

No comments:

Irish Blogs

Links

About Me

I was born in Ireland and grew up in Toronto, Canada with my seven sisters and two brothers. Left home at seventeen to live in a commune, then headed off across Canada with my pal, Carole, and we hitch-hiked around California for months, then back up to Vancouver(Van as we called it then) and across Canada with two more pals, Linda and Peggy. A year later, headed off to Malaysia and Borneo with Jeunesse Canada Monde/Canada World Youth for a year. Baik-lah! Back home, went to Trinity College at the University of Toronto (posh blokes) while also joining the Canadian Naval Reserve as an Officer Cadet. Trained on the east and west coasts of Canada every summer. Great fun. Then what? Hmm. Started to write books, dodgy personal life (that's personal but let's just say it's been a long time between drinks) started to wander around the world, had a darling daughter, settled down in Ireland, wrote more books.